New to hunting... do i have everything i need?
09-03-2013, 05:56 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 1
New to hunting... do i have everything i need?
I just recently seperated from the marine corps and moved back to MD and decided I want to start hunting deer. I just want to know if I have everything I need to start just as a warning I am known for going overboard... I am just going to use my Marine corps woodland cammies as camp I am borrowing a buddies climbing tree stand and will use my old marlin 30-30. I went out and got the doead down wind laundry soap, body soap, shampoo, and field spray flex tone bone box(similar to promos can I assume), primos magnum roar, primos trophy grunter, flex tone extinguisher, knight and hale rattlebag, buck bomb doe p and doe in estrus, trails end #307, special golden estrus. Like I said I am VERY new to this so any help and tips would be great and if I'm missing anything I heard its good to have multiple grunt calls cause they all sound a little different that's why I got 3 ( the magnum roar I don't think sounds that good but it has the snort wheeze on it so I will probably just use it for that) thanks for any input..... I plan to get a bow and hopefully be good enough with it by next season
09-04-2013, 01:41 AM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,242
I'm guessing you'll need some kind of blaze orange vest/hat. I don't know what the MD laws are, but very few states don't require blaze orange during gun season. Look into getting some binoculars and enough warm clothing so that you can be comfortable all day. You might want to shoot that rifle a bit to know where it shoots at various ranges and be comfortable operating it. Otherwise, get out in the woods and have fun.
PS: welcome to the forum, and thank you for your service.
PS: welcome to the forum, and thank you for your service.
Last edited by Wingbone; 09-04-2013 at 01:44 AM.
09-04-2013, 04:09 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Onslow County, NC
Posts: 1,856
1. Double check state laws, for rifle season, bow season, and shotgun season.
2. Double Check state laws on Hunter Orange requirements if they are needed for where you plan to hunt I.E. Private Property or Public Land. How it applies to either one.
3. Site in the ol' 30-30 and use the one type of ammo you site it in for.
4. I got one rattle (set of bones) and one grunt call. Having 2 wont hurt i just try not to carry too much.
5. Have license and tags on you.
Thats all you need.
Clean clothes at home I store them in space saver bags just what i do. Keep spray in truck. Might wanna get some Permanone for ticks and chiggers. If your really new to hunting would just work on the basics and save the scents and grunts and the fancy stuff till next season get some time in the woods. If you wanna use the grunt YouTube has plenty of videos to help you get the idea between blind calling and calling a deer you cant see.
Last but not least as others add check the laws and licenses for the states surrounding you. Maryland isn't that big of a state so you may be able to get more time in the woods by going into W. Va, Va, De and such while waiting for your season to open. If you don't get a deer this season would recommend getting out after find some sheds. My belief is the real stuff should obviously sound realistic vs the rattle bags and such. Being a Marine I know you got 550 cord somewhere to wrap handles and cord the bones together.
Thanks for your service, welcome to the forum. Search function on the top bar will help you find things if you cant find anything your looking for using that then ask questions. Good luck.
2. Double Check state laws on Hunter Orange requirements if they are needed for where you plan to hunt I.E. Private Property or Public Land. How it applies to either one.
3. Site in the ol' 30-30 and use the one type of ammo you site it in for.
4. I got one rattle (set of bones) and one grunt call. Having 2 wont hurt i just try not to carry too much.
5. Have license and tags on you.
Thats all you need.
Clean clothes at home I store them in space saver bags just what i do. Keep spray in truck. Might wanna get some Permanone for ticks and chiggers. If your really new to hunting would just work on the basics and save the scents and grunts and the fancy stuff till next season get some time in the woods. If you wanna use the grunt YouTube has plenty of videos to help you get the idea between blind calling and calling a deer you cant see.
Last but not least as others add check the laws and licenses for the states surrounding you. Maryland isn't that big of a state so you may be able to get more time in the woods by going into W. Va, Va, De and such while waiting for your season to open. If you don't get a deer this season would recommend getting out after find some sheds. My belief is the real stuff should obviously sound realistic vs the rattle bags and such. Being a Marine I know you got 550 cord somewhere to wrap handles and cord the bones together.
Thanks for your service, welcome to the forum. Search function on the top bar will help you find things if you cant find anything your looking for using that then ask questions. Good luck.
09-04-2013, 06:37 AM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 6,357
You didn't say anything about WHERE you would be hunting. You will need to have some place to hunt deer. It is preferable that you don't have to share this area with a bunch of other people (some public land areas can be loaded with hunters). On the assumption you have a place that is NOT overloaded with other hunters, you will want to first assure yourself that there are indeed deer living on this ground. Walk around your area and become familiar with it. Where are the trees, where are the open areas, where is the water, where is the food? As you are familiarizing yourself with your area, keep your eyes open for sign of deer -- tracks, hair caught on fences. This is a progressive activity -- you don't figure out and become familiar with an area on one trip. The better you know your area, the better your chances of taking a deer.
Deer are a prey species. They are subject to being eaten by predator species, such as coyotes, wolves, bear. Because of this inherent nature, deer are careful. They tend to lie low and remain hidden during daylight hours. Many conclusions useful to deer hunting stem from understanding that deer are a prey species. Deer will generally eat at dawn and shortly afterwards and then move to bedding areas -- areas where the deer will lie down and rest all day and chew their cud. Likewise, deer will generally leave their beds in late afternoon, move to their feeding area, and eat just before evening twilight. Because of these daily movements, deer hunting is usually best from first hunting light until 2 hours after sun up and from 2 hours before sun down to last hunting light. Where I hunt this corresponds to 6:30 AM to 9 AM and from 4 PM to 6:30 PM.
When deer move, because they are a prey species and fear being eaten, they take routes that are as hidden as possible and preferably route through cover or trees. When moving between two separated blocks of trees, deer will often cross between at a point that minimizes the amount of open ground they have to cross. They will move through small depressions in the land, ravines and cuts.
When you have a found a place to ambush the deer, get there 30 minutes before you want to start hunting -- thus by 6 AM and by 3:30 PM, following the general schedule I set up above. When you are sitting in wait on deer, try to move as little as possible and move slowly. If you turn your head quickly, this can generate a "flash" that is easily visible to deer as your face reflects light. This is true of your hands also. Move slowly. Avoid making noise. This is not a matter of complete non-motion or complete absence of sound . . . just minimize. And again, when you move, move slowly. I like to have my ambush spot be a place where I am in the shadows -- this reduces the chances for the deer to see me. I do my hunting exclusively from the ground. I feel this gives me advantageous freedom to improvise as the situation warrants versus a tree stand where you are committed to 2 or 3 limited spots well in advance of your hunting day. In chosing a spot on the ground, I try to find a place where objects in front of me will hide my lower body and where I am in shadow.
Have several places identified that you think are good to hunt from. Chose which place to use on a given hunting session based on the wind. You will want the wind blowing FROM where you expect to see the deer TO where you are sitting. This keeps your scent away from the deer. If you are hunting with a rifle, scent control is not highly critical, so long as the wind is in your face. If you shoot a deer at 50 yards and the wind is blowing from the deer towards you, the deer will not smell the kind of commercial laundry soap you used to wash your clothes or the kind of deodorant you wear. At 15 yards -- which may be useful for bow hunting -- these scent issues may be more important.
Finding a good place, a good specific spot, to hunt deer from is very valuable. I hunted a 160 acre area for about 7 years. I killed 3 deer from one specific place -- the deer were always shot within about 15 feet of each other. I killed 2 deer from another specific place. The deer would be in the same places every year. If you just learned once where they are . . . the knowledge serves you year after year.
You will want some additional gear that you did not mention. A hunting knife for field dressing your deer if you get one. Learn from on-line sites how to field dress your deer in advance. A couple of flashlights and extra flashlight batteries. I suggest you get a head lamp. If you kill a deer at last light, you will be field dressing that deer in the dark. Using a head lamp allows you to have both hands free for doing the field dressing. I like to wear a face mask while deer hunting. I imagine this reduces the deer's chances of seeing my face. This is a kind of netting that blocks the whiteness of my face skin to some extent. I try to wear gloves on my hands even when it is not cold to keep my hands covered so deer don't see them moving. Sometimes it is useful to have some rope. You can tie the rope around the antlers or head of the deer to assist in pulling the deer out of the woods. You can tie the front feet together and the back feet together and slip a long pole through the legs and carry the deer out of the woods with a partner. This is especially helpful when trying to carry a deer up a steep hill.
Have a tarp for your vehicle. Put the dead deer on top of the tarp so you don't stain the interior of your vehicle. Know what to do with your deer -- take it to a commercial meat processor to be butchered or butcher it yourself? Carry water to drink. Carry food to munch on. Expect that you need to wear a lot of clothes if you are hunting on a cold day. Sitting very still does not help keep you warm. Use layers. Wear a base layer of wicking fabric -- polypropylene, silk, or merino wool -- next to your skin. Have a warm hat for your head. In cold weather, most heat is lost from the head area.
Know your laws. Some places require you to check your deer. Know the rules on when you can start hunting and when you have to stop hunting, relative to sun down and sun up times. Be aware of any antler configuration restrictions. Know the rules for what firearm types are permitted. In most of Illinois you can't use a high power rifle but are restricted to using a shotgun firing a slug. Other states have like restrictions.
Deer are a prey species. They are subject to being eaten by predator species, such as coyotes, wolves, bear. Because of this inherent nature, deer are careful. They tend to lie low and remain hidden during daylight hours. Many conclusions useful to deer hunting stem from understanding that deer are a prey species. Deer will generally eat at dawn and shortly afterwards and then move to bedding areas -- areas where the deer will lie down and rest all day and chew their cud. Likewise, deer will generally leave their beds in late afternoon, move to their feeding area, and eat just before evening twilight. Because of these daily movements, deer hunting is usually best from first hunting light until 2 hours after sun up and from 2 hours before sun down to last hunting light. Where I hunt this corresponds to 6:30 AM to 9 AM and from 4 PM to 6:30 PM.
When deer move, because they are a prey species and fear being eaten, they take routes that are as hidden as possible and preferably route through cover or trees. When moving between two separated blocks of trees, deer will often cross between at a point that minimizes the amount of open ground they have to cross. They will move through small depressions in the land, ravines and cuts.
When you have a found a place to ambush the deer, get there 30 minutes before you want to start hunting -- thus by 6 AM and by 3:30 PM, following the general schedule I set up above. When you are sitting in wait on deer, try to move as little as possible and move slowly. If you turn your head quickly, this can generate a "flash" that is easily visible to deer as your face reflects light. This is true of your hands also. Move slowly. Avoid making noise. This is not a matter of complete non-motion or complete absence of sound . . . just minimize. And again, when you move, move slowly. I like to have my ambush spot be a place where I am in the shadows -- this reduces the chances for the deer to see me. I do my hunting exclusively from the ground. I feel this gives me advantageous freedom to improvise as the situation warrants versus a tree stand where you are committed to 2 or 3 limited spots well in advance of your hunting day. In chosing a spot on the ground, I try to find a place where objects in front of me will hide my lower body and where I am in shadow.
Have several places identified that you think are good to hunt from. Chose which place to use on a given hunting session based on the wind. You will want the wind blowing FROM where you expect to see the deer TO where you are sitting. This keeps your scent away from the deer. If you are hunting with a rifle, scent control is not highly critical, so long as the wind is in your face. If you shoot a deer at 50 yards and the wind is blowing from the deer towards you, the deer will not smell the kind of commercial laundry soap you used to wash your clothes or the kind of deodorant you wear. At 15 yards -- which may be useful for bow hunting -- these scent issues may be more important.
Finding a good place, a good specific spot, to hunt deer from is very valuable. I hunted a 160 acre area for about 7 years. I killed 3 deer from one specific place -- the deer were always shot within about 15 feet of each other. I killed 2 deer from another specific place. The deer would be in the same places every year. If you just learned once where they are . . . the knowledge serves you year after year.
You will want some additional gear that you did not mention. A hunting knife for field dressing your deer if you get one. Learn from on-line sites how to field dress your deer in advance. A couple of flashlights and extra flashlight batteries. I suggest you get a head lamp. If you kill a deer at last light, you will be field dressing that deer in the dark. Using a head lamp allows you to have both hands free for doing the field dressing. I like to wear a face mask while deer hunting. I imagine this reduces the deer's chances of seeing my face. This is a kind of netting that blocks the whiteness of my face skin to some extent. I try to wear gloves on my hands even when it is not cold to keep my hands covered so deer don't see them moving. Sometimes it is useful to have some rope. You can tie the rope around the antlers or head of the deer to assist in pulling the deer out of the woods. You can tie the front feet together and the back feet together and slip a long pole through the legs and carry the deer out of the woods with a partner. This is especially helpful when trying to carry a deer up a steep hill.
Have a tarp for your vehicle. Put the dead deer on top of the tarp so you don't stain the interior of your vehicle. Know what to do with your deer -- take it to a commercial meat processor to be butchered or butcher it yourself? Carry water to drink. Carry food to munch on. Expect that you need to wear a lot of clothes if you are hunting on a cold day. Sitting very still does not help keep you warm. Use layers. Wear a base layer of wicking fabric -- polypropylene, silk, or merino wool -- next to your skin. Have a warm hat for your head. In cold weather, most heat is lost from the head area.
Know your laws. Some places require you to check your deer. Know the rules on when you can start hunting and when you have to stop hunting, relative to sun down and sun up times. Be aware of any antler configuration restrictions. Know the rules for what firearm types are permitted. In most of Illinois you can't use a high power rifle but are restricted to using a shotgun firing a slug. Other states have like restrictions.
Last edited by Alsatian; 09-05-2013 at 05:44 AM.
09-04-2013, 03:53 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
You hunting from a climber ... get a quality fall restraint harness and use it like your life depended upon it , cause it can.
The 30-30 Win. is plenty good. Take a look at how well Hornady's Leverlution ammo groups out of your rifle. If they group great, I suggest you use them. These retain a much better % of velocity and are therefore are more effective at longer ranges.
If you add a scope, buy the best that you can afford. Cheap-O scopes are Cheap-O for a reason. A good quality 1.5-6x40mm should be ideal.
Good luck ... thank you for your service and have a good season.
The 30-30 Win. is plenty good. Take a look at how well Hornady's Leverlution ammo groups out of your rifle. If they group great, I suggest you use them. These retain a much better % of velocity and are therefore are more effective at longer ranges.
If you add a scope, buy the best that you can afford. Cheap-O scopes are Cheap-O for a reason. A good quality 1.5-6x40mm should be ideal.
Good luck ... thank you for your service and have a good season.
12-01-2013, 05:42 PM
#7
Spike
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Sioux City, Iowa
Posts: 15
Get a tree stand! 
Check out our site for various options. Our site has a ton of information specifically in our technical resource section on tree stands. Our buyer guide will help you make a decision on what kind of stand and if you check out our staff recommendations you'll see our favorites.
Check out our site for various options. Our site has a ton of information specifically in our technical resource section on tree stands. Our buyer guide will help you make a decision on what kind of stand and if you check out our staff recommendations you'll see our favorites.